Aside from patience, red aro tends to grow "protruding lower jaw (PLJ)" so can be quite disappointing if you pick your "perfect" fish at young stage and as it grows, the PLJ effect takes place.

i heard it easily takes 6-7 years to develop colour like those on the poster.

By the way, please be wary when dealing with regional farm that claim they can ship fish to your door step. Recently, i have contacted a few, but no real deal is close.......So i think it is still better to pick up (buy) from local farm. Smile.

To celebrate a good start of 2018, being a typical Asian, i decided to buy an arowana home, as auspicious ornament for prosperous new year ahead.

There are tons of article about selecting arowana... ....just do a short summary here.

Just like goldfish, the basic structure of the Body Shape is number (1) priority.

On general perspective of a beautiful body shape is to be broad and long in parallel.

Second (2) - Fin

All the fins in "at least" proportion to its body length and broadness. Large fan-tail fin is desirable. Slight bent or one long and one short pectoral fins are common defeat in arowana.

Third (3) - Colouration

Again, it is like goldfish, the "bloodline" contribute over half the outcome of the colour developed.

Fourth (4) - Scales & Barbels

The scales must look radiant, bright and neatly arranged in horizontal rows. Scales edge has so called 'thin frame' while others 'thick frame'. It is a matter of personal preference.

Barbels often refers to the horns of the Chinese mythic dragon. It is the symbol of "majestic-ness" of the arowana. It should be long and straight, upward pointing. The pair should also be identical, forming a "V" shape when view from top view as looks similar to the Chinese character "number 8" which means prosperity.

Fifth (5) - Swimming Style

"Graceful" the way the goldfish swims carry a big factor when judging a goldfish. Likewise, arowana swimming with an air of elegance is rather important, its movement radiate the overall aesthetic beauty of the fish to a great extent.

Sixth (6) - Gill Cover

The gill cover should lay flat to the head, not overturned.

For the last two factors to note, perhaps is the MOST common issue found in the recent arowana available in the market.

Seventh (7) - Jaw
***PLJ (protruding lower jaw)***(Especially a problem to Red arowana)
Jaw should be tightly closed, with the lower jaw align with the upper jaw. It is unpleasant to aesthetic when lower nor the upper jaw protrudes out. Unfortunately, fishes with potential of protruding lower or upper law is hard to detect when young.

Eighth (8) -Eyes
Both eyes must be of the same size, must look clear and sharp, avoid droop eye as it affect the overall appearance of the fish.

Personally, i will vote the cause is due to "Mechanical Damage". Fish get damaged when they hit the tank side, and their eyes droop as a result. From the experience in goldfish keeping, perhaps genetic or inbreeding could also contribute to the cause of such syndrome.